Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-13

and no commission charged the en-
pioyer for procuring him the services. IL
/ struck me as rather novel that n concern
should so put itself out to favor an en-
tire stranger, aud made a slight investi-
/ CATION 10 see what its resources were
from which il derived It's income. |
/ found that the letter came from a part
nership Of two women, who were en-
gagged in conducting a school for type
writing and rt-hand in the very heart
OF the city Their pupils were restricted
TO young women. To my astonishment
j found that even the instruction was
given free to the fair applicants.
" How then" ! asked, edo you de-
rive enough from your business to pay
even for the rent Of your Office ?"
There was no particular hesitation in
making the reply II was TO the effect
that every pupil of the school who Sc
cured a position through the efforts of
its managers turned over to the man
ayers the whole OF her first weeks sal
ary. OF course it would have been a
rank imperhnence TO have asked how
many pupils were thus supplied, for that
[ NOull ~ OuNt iuNt ktNfI AWAY wy
nearly the sum total of the business
done by the concern. But [ continued
my inquiries quietly among certain of
the pupils, and found that not
only did they have to give up
the first weeks salary that they
received under employment, but that
somehow or other they were constantly
losing their places and getting new ones,
and that whenever they received new
employment the first weeks salary in
that case was also surrendered. Here
was n scheme worthy the invention of
the keenest male intellect Although on
the surface 1t does not appear TO be par
ticularly outrageous. nevertheless it is,
as conducted, a serious drain upon the re-
sources of the young women who arc en-
deayoring to earn their own living by
stenography and typewriting. The Sc
cret of their frequent loss of position is
clear. The managers of the in
stitution supply, we will say, a
lawyer with a young lady type
writer she proves to be excel
lent at her work, and gets from SO to SIS
a week, although the latter figure isvery
rare, and | found that some girls get as
low as IS. After the young lady has
worked satisfactorily in her position for
Il few weeks the manager of the institu-
ton calls upon the lawyer and makes in
quiries as to the success of her pupil.
Whatever the reply, she says: T." have
at present in my school a pupil who is
Just as expert as this lady, and who is
willing to work for considerably less,
and | can secure position for the pupil
that you now have, and will do so. |
only want to give you good expert work
for less than you are now paying"
The lawyer, of course, is delighted at
the prospect and readily consents to the
change. The change is made. new
pupil arrives, who may not come from
the school directly, but from some other
office, and the girl who loses her position
after possibly few days or even week
or two of waiting is transferred to an
other Office. Cases are not ut all rare
where girls have paid in to the partner
ship referred to $40 to $50 in the course
of nine months. There is no comment
needed upon this system of conducting
business. The girls with few exceptions
are afraid to assert an independent spirit,
as men might under similar circum-
stances, and are abjectly slavish to the
demands of their "kind" instructors.
SUBJECTS OF POPULAR COMMENT.
Two theatrical events engross atten-
tion-One is Potter, the other Is Irving.
Mrs. Potter's Juror is social. Mr.. lrvlngs
is artistic. Both have met with a mea
sure of public disappointment from en-
tirelv different causes. Mrs. Potter is a
charming woman-intelhgent, refined,
and a social pet. There is only one OBJ
staclc to her success-she cannot act /;
she can only recite.
Mr., Irving is a master Of stage busl-
ness a man with a lofty ideal, deep
personal pride in his profession, and
strong individuality, but he cannot play
MephistOpheles, and he opened here IN
Faust" Discounting all the merit Of
stage work-and certainly "Faust was
never mounted as he has mounted 1.-THE
fact remains that his Mephisto disap
pointed his American audience. 1t just
baDpened to be inhuman where 1t should
have been superhuman. 1t turned out
TO be mincing where it should have been
mastery. 1t gave banter instead OF
cynicism. 1t stood on its toes and
pranced where it should have awed with
the awful mystery OF evil.
But the spectators were fascinated with
the diablerie Of the surroundings. Scene
was heaped upon scene picture melted
into picture. Phantasmal lights played
over 1t from beginning to end, and IN
fernaI musicissued from the subterranean
depths continually. The uncanny side
of it was made obvious. The intellec-
tual side was vague.
In spite of this opening season of en-
tertainment there is general feeling OF
social uneasiness observable.
The great issues of life and action are
deeper and more operative than the en-
tertainments of life.
While a select circle is asking itself if
Mrs. Potter will make half million out
Of Vanity Fair tho great public IS ask
ing with anxiety what will be the out
come in Chicago. | hear this discussed
in the hotels, in the cats, in the par
lors. II any one were to ask me what
the general feeling of this community IL
with regard to that matter | should
have TO reply that so far as | am able to
Gather it from all classes it is that an
archy and all pertaining to it should be
stamped out ruthlessly.
Society, uttering its own safeguards In
the breath of the people who are fathers
and mothers or who have them, cries
"Away with them
Out of all the false sympathy and NOR
bid pity for dynamitards, | do not hear
anybody stand up and say that one of
the noblest, bravest, most heroic specta-
Giles of the century was furnished by the
squad Of Chicago police, who. when
their ranks were torn 10y the exploding
bomb. formed and marched over their
dead companions to the defence of law
and order. But think there is a quiet
admiration of that matchless civic tri-
umph in all mems hearts from Penobscot
to Pensacola.
1t isa curious commentary on the con-
dition of society 10 hear men in dress
coats at the Metropolitan Opera House,